Greetings from Paris! We’re in the city of romance to bring you coverage of the 2010 Paris Motor Show, and yours truly just got back from a Lotus gala dinner where the Proton subsidiary showed off FIVE new models that will be unveiled tomorrow at the show. Yes, you read right, five new models!
There’s an embargo in place, so you’ll have to be patient for that, but we took the opportunity to catch up with Proton MD Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir to quiz him about the ongoing row between Proton/Group Lotus and the Lotus Racing team headed by Tony Fernandes. The boss was eager to set a few things straight after 1Malaysia Racing issued a statement of their own two days ago.
“I repeat that Group Lotus is the only company entitled to use the “Lotus” name in Formula 1 and that Tony Fernandes and 1Malaysia fully accepted this when they came to us in 2009 for permission to use our “Lotus” name for F1. 1Malaysia has not adhered to the terms of the license. It has sold an extensive range of unapproved merchandise and stayed outside the field of its license (which is limited to F1),” Syed Zainal said.
“I would like to correct the statement made by Lotus Racing that Group Lotus was unsuccessful in revoking Team Lotus trademarks. This statement is completely unfounded and incorrect. We have been advised by our lawyers that the Team Lotus trademarks owned by Team Lotus Ventures (TLV) are invalid for many reasons, and we are currently pursuing proceedings at the Trade Mark Registry to prove this. We are confident of success.
“Group Lotus has applied on a number of occasions to revoke Team Lotus trademark registrations on the basis of non use. In the course of these proceedings, neither David Hunt or TLV have provided us or the court with any details of why or how it believes it owns any rights to Team Lotus despite repeated requests,” he explained.
“Proton and Group Lotus will do all in their power to protect the Lotus name, which is one of the most valuable brands in F1. Group Lotus will issue proceedings in the next few days to stop this unlawful use of the Lotus name. Our lawyers have advised us that we have a strong case and we are confident of success,” he added.
That confidence was on display in tonight’s event. The grand ceremony had a heavy motorsports heritage flavour, with Lotus reminding the audience with displays, videos and appearances of Clive Chapman (son of Lotus founder Colin) and Sir Stirling Moss. Both men spoke on stage – the former publicly praised Proton’s stewardship of Lotus while the F1 legend recalled good memories driving for Team Lotus. It can be seen as throwing weight behind Group Lotus’ right to hold the name.
At the event, Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar underlined the importance of racing heritage to the brand, saying that Lotus “was about racing and will always be about racing,” adding that motorsports will from now be one of the company’s main pillars of communications.
From the looks of it, Proton and Group Lotus will not back down easily and will take the fight till the end.
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owh~ cant wait to see all the 5 new models.
Great news!!!! Teach those greed ppl a real lesson!!!
Great news…cannot wait to see Team Lotus beat Group Lotus in the Court…beat greedy ppl to learn lesson again…with sponsorship 1.5% in F1 but want the whole cake…let justise punish Group lotus
I think there is no use rebranding the name…still the same team and oso will oni cause xtra work…just my 2 cent..
There are many business analysist who don’t agree with the new direction of Lotus lately. This including the plan to produce car that will go head to head with the Ferrari and Aston Martin like sportscar. I quite agree because Lotus already known for ‘add lightness’ mantra by its founder. Such mantra translate into products lineup like Exige, Elise, Evora. Moreover, Lotus synonim with racing heritage. Moreover Lotus also doesn’t have its own engine. I really hope Lotus will turn around in their 5 years plan to become profitable since Proton already pump in money to Lotus since 1994 and still unprofitable.
proton want to make lotus a profit making company. so far just going engineering stuff and selling cars like elise and exige maybe just can’t do…. just niche market for small and lightweight cars..
Following after a Mantra sometimes is more pride than business sense.
Yes, in a way, Lotus should stick to what they are known for, but again, no harm capatilizing that and produce more financially desirable (to the company) products.
Tell that to Porsche when they first lanched the Cayenne. Turned out to be one of their more profitable product. Porsche is known for thier rear engine cars, but that didn’t stop them from doing the 914/924/944, Boxster).
i guess they have done their homework to land on this new strategic direction.
i believe demographics has changed and car ownership, in the lotus sense, means something else today.
the lightness mantra was great, but once you add safety, horsepower, refinement, comfort etc… you end up with a porky thing. it is a challenge to balance all that. i suppose this where the likes of porsche is damned good at.
now if only lotus can get that GTi DSG gearbox and mate it to the Elise, and keep the price at current level, wow…
To make it become profitable they must get out of the comfort zone, which is what they are doing now.
Agree with 4G63tDSM,
Porsche purists were furious when the Cayenne first came out, saying it’s a bastardization of the name brand. Say what you want it was those cars that brought Porsche out of financial problems and continue bringing in the 911s and what nots. It is not unreasonable to say that without the Cayenne Porsche might had gone bankrupt or be bought over by other car companies.
In a way it is the same for Proton. Saying nationalism and all those bull when VW tried to merge with Proton. It is an era of globalization now and one needs to merge in order to survive. If Proton still maintains that stubborn stance it will either go bankrupt or the rakyat would have to continue subsidizing their inefficiencies & shortcomings.
Why is Tony Fernandez ‘sibuk’ with the Lotus brand and not promote his Air Asia and Tune Hotels more aggresively? In the first place Lotus brand is not his to start with, while it is easier for him to promote Air Asia and Tune Hotels as he has been recognized in major parts of the world.
I suspect that Naza is also pushing from the back, as they have been selling sports cars and maybe dream of building one they can call their own, like Spyker?
i think its because air asia brand and tune hotels is not as strong/big as lotus
in the motosport world. hence, they need strong name in F1 to attract hype/media.
this is in order for them to attract more other sponsors to the team.
agrees, with current performance and Air Asia name…they will be a joke among motorsport fans,
DS TF, Air Asia Racing ok lor.. can promote Air Asia too..
Ask Perodua to join, Perodua Racing… then make Myvi Perodua Racing Limited Edition.. hehe
limited edition say about 20,000 car…..
AIR ASIA PERODUA RACING TEAM..
next produce MYVI F1 LIMITED EDITION – with unlimited production…
Good luck
5 models???wow can wait to see it…………………
what as waste of time fighting with one other
why don’t just improve the team performance,
everybody can win…
Go Proton/Group Lotus.. TF and the team should not used the Lotus name.. Maybe Tony Teams.. hahaha
support….
Way to go Lotus! Good job Proton! The intregity of the brand must be preserved and uplifted, as Lotus is entering a new era as one of the supercar giants.
Very well, I’m with Tony.
is really weird if Lotus F1 team got nothing to do with Lotus itself. TF should just compromise and have Group Lotus as part of the team so all the technology developed can be used in future Lotus car or even Proton>
If you recall stories from way back, TF did court Group Lotus and tried to involve them as it was only logical to do so since his F1 team is helping to promote Lotus products anyway.
As for tech transfer, F1 tech is just to disconnected from real world road car needs. These days its purely commercial branding. Very little tech benefit possible
hopefully this matter will resolve quickly… the loser will lose a lot ..
Exactly my thoughts.
I’m no business guru or a market veteran, so I have no say in what they should be doing. But now “Lotus” is a “new team”, which I’m very sure they should be spending their energy in developing their cars.. not politics…
TF please just get this over with and concentrate on scoring that first point… call the team whatever you want… I’m okay with Team Air-Asia Tune (TAT) too…
Can’t agree more bro… so much of “1Malaysia Racing Team”. Can’t even stand with each other for 1 year…
1Malaysia Racing Team supposed to show that we can unite to achieve the same goal, no matter what… but this….??
let me guess,…the models are new Waja, new Perdana, Exora turbo, facelifted saga and the Emas
I believe the 5 models are LOTUS CARS…. not proton….
He’s just trolling….
:roll:
This is a big joke that put a shame to none other than our country itself.
this is what they are trying to use, nationalism, while they are all laughing to the bank.
come on DSZ! Tell Tony to pay up …
You mean on top of the £XX millions of his own he has poured in the F1 team giving publicity for Group Lotus/Proton at almost next to no cost to the latter.
Why can’t Group Lotus capitalize and leverage on the F1 team’s effort to sell more Lotus road cars and thus helping with revenues for Proton which should be the primary focus of this car company..
“Lotus” is not a toy. Should be at the right place.
As even in wiki, they are a lot of Lotus name being used… Sue them all? Later the Lotus plant also can be sued?
you can’t register “lotus” as copyrighted word as it’s not created by you, or it’s too common. for example in Malaysia, a company has been trying to register “suria” and “klcc” (as separate words) as their copyrighted words but unsuccessful. instead, they have successfully registered “Suria KLCC”. so, other supermarkets or restaurants still can call their shop “Suria Minimart”, “Suria Restaurant” or whatsoever.
why proton signed in the first place? for sure they will be merchandise sold, to part finance the team ops…
Lotus is a type of plant rite? ^^ Some restaurant called “lotus….”, are they supposed to remove the restaurant name too ^^
the license is limited to racing in F1 only. not beyond that.
for example, you buy MS Windows from Microsoft with a license for you to use only on 1 PC but you make copies and distribute it, or install it on 2 or more PCs… that’s a breach of contract or license.
Bravo Proton & Group Lotus… Don’t give up till the fat lady sings…
I support group lotus…. tony’s lotus is like a cheapskate copycat…. without any heritage attached to it….
agreed… the only think which is related to Group Lotus and Lotus Racing is just the name..
come on la proton.. without tony and his gang, u never enter in f1 like petronas. the only marketing that i can see proton names in world sports is BADMINTON that have nothing similar with motorsport.. dont be so selfish..
if not because of proton Tony and his gang can’t even enter f1 yoh….sponsorship only…they can sponsor any team la…
Tony is the one trying to be selfish ok….oh well…
5 models at a time is damn cool….
If the appearance of Clive Chapman and Stirling Moss, who recently was quoted in favour of Tony Fernandes’ claims for Team Lotus are anything to go by, will we see a shift in favour?
Anyway, can’t wait to read about those new Lotus models!
well…not much of an embargo..have already seen the five new models…looks good tho…hopefully the quality has improved significantly from the Evora
New Elise, Elan, Eterne, Esprit and finally Elite…
you heard it first..here..
//cam.shaft
What you failed to mention is the fact that Lotus will e showing off a 4 door model, for the first time ever!
Yes indeed.
the models LOOKS GOOD~!
but im worried bout the build quality =)
Specs looks great as well:
Lotus Elise: 4 cylinder 2.0, 350 BHP. Base and R versions available as coupe or cabriolet. Aimed at Porsche Boxster / Cayman, Audi TT
Lotus Elan: Available with 2 seats or as a 2+2, V6 3.5 ltr, 450-470 BHP, Base Price around £70000, Base and R versions available as coupe or cabriolet, benchmark: 911 turbo
Lotus Elite: 2+2, 5.0 ltr V8, 600 BHP+. Available as coupé / cabriolet in Base and R versions. Base Price around £135,000. Aimed at DB9
Lotus Eterne: 4 door / 4 seat based on the new Lotus Elite. Aimed at Porsche Panamera / Aston Martin Rapide
Lotus Esprit: 2 seats, 5.0 ltr V8, 600 BHP+, Base Price around £100,000. Base and R versions available as coupe or cabriolet. Aimed at Ferrari 458 / Gallardo
//cam.shaft
Did they not challenge Hunt in 1998 and lost?
On non-use of Team Lotus, Hunt did race his newly acquired team at the end of the 1994 season and licensed the name to Pacific Grand Prix in 1995. However of course that was a long time ago
1998 ruling
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/o21098.pdf
wow… spy pic plss
can proton stand on its own without lotus?
mana boleh
i think the question should be.. will LOTUS still be here if its not because of PROTON
what to do eyesora…. malaysian always think that somebody need to ‘help’ proton…but they forgot that proton the one who help lotus back in 1996…
Lotus was previously owned by Bugatti… now even Bugatti is owned by some other company.. VW.
For layman like me, it is not Lotus unless it is sanctioned by Lotus, using Lotus car and Lotus engine.
But I guess a lot of manufacturers nowadays are using other manufacturers engine. So I guess the real spirit of F1 is no longer there, it used to be all about engineering and technical abilities of the race participants. Each manufacturers used to be proud of their own technical and engineering superiority over the others.
Lotus never had their own engine. Neither in F1 nor in their road cars.
Now F1 its all about politics, money, glamor and fame. The riches just come and enjoy being a part of the glamor rather than enjoy the racing.
Hope to hear a lot more from all of you @ Paris. Give us lots of live updates!
Breaking news!! A manager not getting along with his players at a provincial football club in Liechtenstein!! … ie WHO CARES!!!
I hope Group Lotus will tapau TF Gang until the LOONEY TUNE RACING was chosen new name for the outfit. After this never into agreement or any business with TF. He want to do another miracle like in defunct old Air Asia but fail in F1: He think He can turn 1Malaysia Racing to be another Brawn in 2010. Even talking corky, that his Lotus Restaurant Racing give Proton free lunch.
For me F1 participation without competency just like shooting at your feet otherwise mighty Toyota still in the race. He demands hundred million dollar investment back if Proton want their Lotus nameplatd in F1 back-smart investors,huh? How much he pay one David Hunt? A ‘paltry’ sum compared to his hundred million investment.
1Malaysians kena kencing
fight for this,proton.. it’s lotus legendary remark
Octopussy predictions: The Winner……..f**king LAWYERS!!!
The winner is David Hunt! He sold the right to Tony and the gang and what ever happened between Proton/Group Lotus and 1Malaysia Racing in the court, he’s already laughing to the bank.
Actually Paul the Octopussy!
smashing and grabbing – or sometimes referred to ‘entrepreneurship’.
take your pick. we know where our friend picks his.
FAX, MAB, MAS, Labu…. and now Lotus. have to admit that he is predictable though.
let’s sit back and see where this ends
TF..watch out!
Just close your eyes.. Tony will win.
Tony, Tony… i guess he was trying his luck by streching the terms of the contract and hoping people got confused on who can and connot use the brand name. Its a valuable brand and he knows it…
Typical bus man strategy of getting….moral of the story….its very inmoral and not gentleman at all…lost my respect for TF and starts to wonder on stories heard about the maintenance aspects of their airframe from MAS engineers…its all abt $$$ for him
waaa~ 5 model at once. interesting ^^
Proton and Group Lotus should buy the entire stakes in Lotus Racing from 1Mongolia – correction, 1Malaysia – to settle this matter. Full stop.
lol..thats more like giving TF free money… I’m sure he’ll accept it without hesitation… knowing TF it won’t be cheap tho…
Don’t get it wrong ok folks..of course TF will be richer if he sold the entire team to Proton/Lotus, but it’s just for a short while only. In the future, he won’t be able to make money by using Lotus’ name. It’s like when u sell ur valuable land where u’ll be kaya sekejap but after a while u’ll become poor back after all the money is used. It’s a simple acquisition theory. Besides, Proton and Lotus can get full control over the team.
But anyway, if both Proton/Lotus and 1Malaysia choose the harder way, then we’ll just see who deserves the Lotus name in F1. Of course, it’ll cost a lot to both sides in terms of legal costs.
How exactly will TF get richer by selling it to Proton/Lotus? Is Proton/Lotus willing to pay him and the two other co-owners enough to cover the £55m they have personally invested(as quoted in Autosport). Proton/Lotus should focus on getting the basics right with their their car selling business. More products, better market penetration. Motorsport is a luxury marketing spend and wasteful if the basic car business infrastructure is not even ready
I think it will be the other way round, I fully expect Fernandes to lobby Najib in getting Proton to sell Lotus Group to One Malaysia racing, it also explains Naza being the biggest sponsor so far, Fernandes will tell of a back hand player financing Lotus Groups new found racing heritage. My two sen worth!
I think u’re right, that situation can happen. So to play safe, Proton/Lotus should secure their rights in the Lotus Racing brand first in court. Then they should apply to the court to stop any attempts by TF and the gang to use the Lotus’ name in their team or disband their team. TF should not be allowed to use the Lotus Racing name as it is not a factory team.
Hurrah..
What is Clive Chapman’s stand for this issue?
whatever, Lotus or not, Red Bull is who I am supporting.
oh you youngsters will support the best team during your era.
when F1 came to malaysia in late 90s, mclaren was at their peak with mika hakinen and david hakinen. many malaysians were supporting mclaren team just for the sake of glory. when ferrari became 5 times world champion, many mclaren supprters switched camp.
pathetic.
Who the hell is David Hakinen the only David i know is David Coulthard. Learn before preaching others.
i believe it was mika hakkinen and david coulthard.. most people will always support the best team ie: Man U, Fiat Yamaha and now RBR.. only true enthusiast will support loyally to their beliefs..
Typical Malaysians only support winners. Same goes for any other sports like football etc. They only know the current team, not of its history. Heck, I bet these fans couldn’t even tell the last champions of the top teams (Ferrari et. al.) before 1999, when F1 first set foot in this country.
As for me, I am a Williams supporter. Really wish they could get back to the top of the heap. Of all the teams who should have manufacturer support, they’re the one who are most deserving. They do things with minimum fuss and hype, and I admire how Frank Williams, despite his disability manage to successfully lead Williams to become the most successful F1 team of the 90s. I hope they don’t become another Tyrrell or Brabham or even Lotus BT (Before Tony).
David Coulthart….. :-)
I guess that’s one of the fact. Who cares about RBR whe they took over Jaguar Racing?
Nobody care about Alonso or Kimi when Alonso still in Minardi and Kimi was still driving for Sauber Petronas.
I support the late Ayrton Senna! Prost vs Senna was my favourite era. Most Malaysians are F1 virgins and were not following F1 until 1999 when the show came to town.
Too bad most don’t remember the happening local motorsport scene (rallying, batu 3 track, motogp) through the 80s
i miss those era…..
Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious (Lotus). Now everyone can race (and they always at the back).
i guess there’s no need for them to use lotus name. Red Bull is just an energy drink but the make it big in F1 nowadays. So, Mr. Tony, i guess it is good if you rename your team to “Power Root Racing”, ask Rosyam Noor to be the team ambassador. Thats more like it..hahaha
its better to find solution that can bring good to all party rather than hurt each other. I really hope GL, Proton, TF can figure out how to benefit us all instead of barking out loud. Collaboration is a good word to start with. Pride is good, but to much pride is foolish.
The pride is not an issue here. The issue here is that TF and the gang is making money by selling unauthorized merchandise while Proton/Lotus don’t get even a single cent of royalty from them. That’s violating the licence term, as Proton/Lotus licenced 1Malaysia to use the Lotus name for racing in F1 only.
Seen the supposedly embargoed pics already. Look nice but really remind me of Lamborghini. New design language for Lotus, Elise doesn’t look like Elise anymore. Come to think of if, why on earth Lotus design all their car to look almost the same? Are you really trying to be Aston Martin?
corporate look kot..
Why all the thumb downs? I said it looks nice.
You guys are weird.
I find it a little off they got Sir Moss to speak for the team.
last I recall, the Lotus that he drove wasn’t spectacular….and he is unfortunately one of the few “Greats” without ever winning a championship.
Strangly, when I think of Stirling Moss, and I think of his Mercedes 300SL.
i feel sick whenever they show the teams’ past performance, Lotus Racing ripped off all the numbers of races won, podium finishes from the original Team Lotus (which is many).
They are not the same team for crying out loud. It’s a no brainer!
One team is coached by a person who is very passionate about car racing and team spirit. The other one, ehemm, is purely motivated by greed. Pfftt…
What is this…malaysia vs malaysia….richard branson would be laughing…
i think tony should eat the humble pie and apologize to proton/lotus for the misuse of the lotus branding, and make things right again so that the 1malaysia team can still use the lotus brand and everybody happy again….
It is sad to see these type of fighting.
If it was so obvious Gp Lotus is right, then there is no need to even bring out this as an issue.
Who gets to use the Logo, that one should be debated not the name lotus.
Now all they have to do is squeeze one or two super Esprits with all the fancy gadgets into the next Bond movie and folks, we have a winner! No need to win F1.
According to this link http://tinyurl.com/25yhbhc Team Lotus Ventures rights for specific use in F1 of the ‘Team Lotus’ brand is still intact, not revoked.
My worry is this sudden massive scale motorsport campaign by Group Lotus in various significant (thus expensive) racing categories. I’d like to know who is funding it. Group Lotus is not flush with cash. It’s no Ferrari.
If the funding is from Proton I’d be very annoyed. I would rather they spend the money on car production rather than non-essential marketing like motorsport. Spend on proper product planning and penetration into new territories (dealer network). Once that is in place, then spend on brand advertising ie. F1 or whatever to boost sales through existing infra.
I’m beginning to think that Group Lotus/Proton haven’t got their priorities right and Dany Bahar is on a personal trip to get back into his wonderful ex-world of F1.. at Malaysia’s expense.
If its private money, like Tony and co, they can spend on racing on the moon for all I care.
i’m with tony on this. tony is the man to bring lotus racing back to the podium.. it may not happen in the near future but got the best probability if everyone give support. haissh so sad, the dream is there but some people just want to live simple. no work and no investment, no gain la.
toni takde telor! masuk laa f1 as air asia racing or tune racing.
but TF brought Lotus back in F1 in name only. There’s no technical or engineering from Group Lotus involved what so ever. Thus i think Group Lotus wants to protect the name because of its non-involvement. When in the future Group Lotus DOES involve itself in any racing form it would really involve their engineering expertise.
If TF do bring ‘Lotus’ name to the podium it would be a hollow victory for Group Lotus since none of their engineering expertise is being used.
TF is using a pedigree name to attach himself to a racing heritage of which he uses
for marketing n purposes. TF should just rename it TuneRacing
i think its clear.
supposing im the car manufacturer “Mazda”.
and tommorow, some guy who claims he has a company called “Team mazda” .. and he wants to enter Formula 1. Regardless of the background, his relation to mazda, or how he got the name…. Is it right or wrong for him to enter Formula 1, as “Team Mazda”, even though he doesn’t have any links or relations to Mazda, and also doesn’t have an agreement or permission from the car manufacturer Mazda?
i personally think its wrong. the original Mazda, the car manufacturer should be protected in this case.
Not that simple. The case on “Team Lotus” is unique. Group Lotus and Team Lotus were separate entities for many decades. The F1 team that raced before was Team Lotus, not Group Lotus. Don’t ask why its that way. It just IS because Colin Chapman structured it that way back then. The rights are in writing and clearly stated, thus cannot be ignored. TLV holds rights to use Team Lotus but only in F1
Glad to see a lot of favorable supports for Proton/GL on this issue. Lotus restaurant or Lotus hotel (there is one in KL) will not bring any harm to Lotus car company because they are so isolated and a few of us know only. But, if the name comes with Lotus logo and seen on TV world wide, it will definitely give a significant impact to the brand. The biggest chunk of money pouring into F1 owners’ pocket is from TV telecast. Everybody knows this, so stop being childish on the related Lotus names in our market.
We should uphold the Lotus name for its heritage in automotive engineering as it is part of Malaysian now.
when they mentioned Lotus restaurant, they’re actually joking… come on lah, dont take it too seriously…. :P
Pls read from begining, some of us mentioned what the fuss to fight for Lotus name as it was not licensed for proton or GL only like any Tom & Jerry could use it.
i want to use karipap Lotus, murtabak Lotus, satay Lotus… wooohhh…
How about the logo?
Is TLV use the same logo with GL/Lotus racing?
If yes, WTF!!
What i feel is TF backstab Proton..TF know that proton fight with TLV before this.
Suppose TF see that and give some respect to proton coz proton is one of their sponsor. TF must thank to proton coz allow them tu use the Lotus name for the team..
But, TF is businessman, business minded..so,what important to him is only money/profit..I think he can predict what haappen next after he buy TLV.
That’s why he dont make any discussion with proton to continue sponsorship.
TF lis ike kacang lupa kan kulit.. When for a first time he want to involve in F1 he ask Lotus Licensee from Proton but when he bought Team Lotus Venture he just forget the proton and sell merchandise with lotus logo….
I wonder why Malaysia always make headlines for the WRONG reason????
The Funny thing is the F1 team known as1Malaysia racing team to promote unity….But now two Malaysian giants TF and Proton battle each other?????
The biggest LOSER is Najib who lauched this 1Malaysia racing team to promote its slogan…
But now it FAILS miserably as two Malaysian fighting each other and bring to court somemore…….LMAO
I really want to hear opinion from our lovely PM…LOL
Kancil F1 Racing Team …
team ferrari = ferrari engine
team mercedes = mercedes engine
team toyota = toyota engine
team renault = renault engine
Lotus racing = COSTWORTH engine??? Where got road!!
Red bull racing = red bull engine? No!
Williams F1 = williams engine? No!
McLaren = mclaren engine? No! (ok, mclaren’s a bit of a stretch, but before Mercedes came in 1997, they had Peugeot, Ford Zetec, Honda, Porsche (rebadged as TAG) & Ford Cosworth engines)
Plus, neither did Team Lotus or Group Lotus/Lotus Cars ever made their own engines. Not in F1 not for the road, EVER.
At least the Cosworth DFV V8 did power Team Lotus to great success back then and at least Lotus Racing is powered by Cosworth today..
Btw Mercedes never built their own race engines either. Their race engines were for many years builty by Ilmor Engineering and badged Mercedes, until they took control of that company a few years back.
if i am a tony fernandez, i will rename the team to “AirAsia F1 Team” .
Utusan Malaysia report 29 sept 2010.
Pemilik Lotus Racing cabar Proton
KUALA LUMPUR – Pasukan Lotus Racing sedia menyerahkan pasukan Formula Satu (F1) kepada Proton Holding Bhd. (Proton) jika ia mampu melakukan lebih baik daripada yang telah dilakukan di bawah pengurusan kini pada musim depan.
Timbalan Ketua Pasukan Lotus Racing, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun berkata, selain itu Proton perlu membayar pelaburan yang telah dilakukan oleh tiga individu, membabitkan dirinya, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes dan SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, bernilai pound 70 juta (RM340.9 juta) pada musim ini.
Malah, tambah beliau, pihaknya telah membeli Team Lotus Ventures Ltd. (TLV), yang mempunyai hak untuk menggunakan nama Team Lotus, pada harga lebih pound 3 juta (RM14.61 juta) kira-kira sebulan lalu setelah melakukan kajian kewajaran pertimbangan.
…so tell me, for a company that kept harping on the fact that it is running on a tight budget before the start of the season, they sure paid handsomely for a name when the RM14.61 million could have instead been saved and channeled towards the development of the car.
It’s also interesting to note the rare disclosure of how much the team has invested into f1 considering this is normally a team’s most closely guarded secret.
btw, banyak tu RM340.9 juta – mana mai duit?
its all money ke to all these three? ish2
media pun also bakar tak agak.
Its a shame to hear this in public. In my point of view,both parties should discuss this sesame sendiri and come to a consensus yang bring good to both. rasenye there are no use claiming this and that pade media je ?right?
***if i am colin champan, da lame i rasuk both pastu antuk kan kepale kat diniding. bia waras sket :P
I say just name the team to Team “Lian Hua”. (In Chinese Lian Hua means Lotus). This way you still can call your team Lotus and you can tap into the China market! Ok, lame joke. Like
kimi_ says:
I wonder why Malaysia always make headlines for the WRONG reason????
The Funny thing is the F1 team known as1Malaysia racing team to promote unity….But now two Malaysian giants TF and Proton battle each other?????
some of u are really ignorant on how the f1 circus works. putting on the lotus name will inevitably bring in more sponsors in time to come when they hav developed. who the hell wants to sponsor air asia racing/proton racing/perodua racing or watsoever? which is why it is only logical for the lotus name to be remain. proton probably feels they should hav more say or exposure in this whole f1 thingy but they only contribute 1.5% of the team’s sponsorships. it was already stated that the lotus f1 racing outfit itself was nvr part of the lotus grp else proton could hav blocked the move into f1. now that they realize the team gaining more exposure & status, they want to tumpang glamor n claim they own the branding rights to the f1 team.